gold, musgrave.n, i believe you have in your hand a relic which is not only of great intrinsic value but also of great importance as a historical curiosity. >> but what is it? >> nothing less than a fragment of the ancient crown of the kings of england. >> the crown? oh, no, no, holmes, it's too fanciful. now, consider the ritual. how does it run? "whose was it?" >> "his who is gone." >> that was the execution of charles. and then, "who shall have it?" >> "he who will come." >> that was charles ii, whose advent was already foreseen. there can, i think, be no doubt, gentlemen, that this battered and shapeless diadem once encircled the brows of the royal stewards. >> but how came it to my family? >> when charles i was executed, the crown was seized, broken into pieces, and sold for 1,000 guineas. since then, there has been no trace of it. until now. >> but why would charles not get it back on his return? >> that is a question which may never be answered. when your ancestor died, by some oversight, he l